a spirit of simplicity

  I am grateful for a dragonfly that ended up in my classroom at work. Somehow he managed to avoid 9 little pairs of feet and fingers and wait for an opportune time for me to discover him.  We took some pictures and let him go. ~ ~ ~ Thankful Thursday

  I’ve been seeing mushrooms growing all over the place!  We’ve been having nothing but rain and humidity this summer. Tucker’s meow box came in the mail the other day. He gets pretty happy when that happens.  The other day, just about a month after my  mother’s passing, I noticed a dragonfly in my classroom. We took some pictures and let it go.  My aunt’s 90th birthday celebration was on Sunday. It was bittersweet to be there without my mum but it was nice to see everyone on a happier occasion.  Last night a mother/daughter came to pick up my mum’s dresser. We had listed it on Craig’s list because none of us could use it. It was very large and had a huge mirror. A mother and her college age daughter came to pick it up in their truck. At first I thought they wouldn’t be able to do it…but they did! I’m so h apply that it’s going to a nice young girl. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Friendship Friday Friday fave fives

I had to go to my aunt’s 90th birthday celebration on Sunday.  It was bittersweet as it was the first family gathering since my mum’s funeral services a few weeks ago. But it was a beautiful day and I have a loving and caring family. We were at a place called Owenego in Branford, CT.  Right on the Atlantic Ocean and so old fashioned it was like stepping back into time. Bright and beautiful hydrangea’s lined the pathway walking in and perennial grew along the shore.  It was a stormy day but the rain stopped earlier in the day so we were able to go out onto the decks and watch the waves in the ocean.  I missed my mum…I wish she could have been there. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Nature Notes

We have had so much rain!  I despair it will never be sunny again.  Mushrooms are all over the place! I am not all that familiar with what kinds of wild mushrooms are what… But I think that they are so beautiful. Did you know that Beatrix Potter was an illustrator of mushrooms? Actually she drew scientific pictures of all kinds of spores and identified quite a few of them. Some of her illustrations are still being used in textbooks today! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Nature Notes Our world Tuesday Image-in-ing

  The first summer my mum and I moved into our apartments…mine on the second floor and hers on the first…we walked past a friend’s little shop and admired a blue and white striped chair in the window. Three or four times a week we would walk past and she would tell me how much she loved the chair. One day I came home from work and she told me that she had purchased it. She loved it. My sister, brother, and I would laugh because if one of us happened to be nibbling on a little something while we were sitting on it or if we happened to curl up a bit and put our feet on it, mum would give us the evil eye until we either sat up straight or stopped eating. Since she passed away last month I have inherited the chair and it sits in my living room just above the very spot where it sat in her house.  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The hearth and soul Grace at home

    t Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  Galatians 6:2 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ My mum passed away unexpectedly on 27 June and this was the first verse that I read shortly after her passing. My sister is living with stage 5 colon cancer and my brother and I tend to go our own ways. This verse reminded me that we will need to take care of one another now that our mother is gone.  Sunday scripture blessings Scripture and a snapshot You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

  My mother passed away unexpectedly on 27 June. It does seem rather strange to list this here…it is not one of my favourite things.  We had her services on Saturday and our goal was to follow her wishes… She wanted the loved ones who attended to remember her with joy and laughter. We chose uplifting songs at the church…not too uplifting though. The church was packed! I don’t think there was a seat left. And we hosted her friends and family to a party at the Boston Yacht Club here in Marblehead. It was a sunny and beautiful temperature day sandwiched between a whole bunch of rainy, stormy days. I could hear people laughing and reminiscing as I walked about greeting everyone.  Now we begin the process of healing and becoming accustomed to a life without her.  It’s the simple things…. Making “salad” in a pail full of rain water. There’s nothing like a group of toddlers to remind you that life goes on.  The gardens are sort of a mess in the back garden. It’s been either teaming rain for w

  I am thankful for all the rain and fog we’ve been having…for weeks and weeks now. Firstly, we need the rain! And secondly, the weather seems to be wrapping me in a cocoon of comfort  since the loss of my mum on 27 June. Bright and sunny July days would seem crass and almost obnoxious. These slow rainy, foggy days are giving me a chance to dance with my sorrow  And step back into the world a little at a time.  Thankful Thursday

  My mother passed away on 27 June.  We had her services on 10 July and the following morning I walked down to the harbour to see this beautiful, calm, and peaceful sunrise.  Waves of sadness pour upon me periodically as I go about my days. She gave me roots and she gave me wings. Nature Notes Our world Tuesday    Pictorial Tuesday     Imagine-in-ing  

  My mother passed away quite unexpectedly on 27 June. Sadness and sorrow overwhelm us  but at the same time there is abundant gratitude. I haven’t blogged in a few months and thought that perhaps I was done here at A spirit of simplicity. This morning I find myself needing to mark down the natural turns of life once again. So…here I am. Mum, When I count my blessings I will always count you twice Thank you for giving me both roots and wings Always in my heart